VANCOUVER, Wash. — A father says his 14-year-old daughter is staying positive after a man allegedly tried to kidnap her at the Vancouver Mall on Saturday evening.
Jason England spoke with media members after watching the suspect, 49-year-old Steven Hayes, appear in court Monday morning in Clark County. Hayes faces kidnapping, assault and felony harassment charges. The judge set Hayes’ bail at $500,000 and ordered a mental health evaluation.
“This is not anything that any kid should have to go through,” England said.
England told reporters his daughter is staying strong after the ordeal, and he called her one of the most positive people he knows.
“Despite this happening, the first thing that she is pointed to is the people that were involved in this that helped her. And that we can make this a positive event by creating community awareness about this issue,” England said.
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Bystanders at the mall rushed to help the teen after seeing her fight back against Hayes, who grabbed the girl by the head and threatened to kill her inside an American Eagle store at the mall, according to court documents.
Witnesses chased and detained Hayes, who has a previous kidnapping conviction on his record, until officers arrive to arrest him.
“To hear the amount of priors that this guy’s had, and he’s still out there, is very frustrating to me. I definitely think that the state needs to get more serious about crimes like this,” England said.
England called on parents to teach their kids to be aware of their surroundings in public, and to not just look out for their own children; look out for others’ kids as well.
“I used to ride my bicycle to that very mall as a kid. These are areas of influence in our community. There’s no reason why I shouldn’t be able to take my daughter to the mall, or she shouldn’t be able to go to the mall with her friends and have a safe visit,” he said.
“Let’s create community awareness, let’s bring this to the forefront and make it something that all of us can be a part of,” England said.
“This is terrifying. This is nothing that I would wish upon any parent to have to go through.”